SAP Enterprise Support costs 22 percent a year for updates many stable estates no longer need. Third party support halves the bill; we make sure the move is sequenced, documented, and safe.
This engagement is bought by organizations running mature ECC or S/4HANA estates that work: settled releases, stable customizations, and no appetite for the upgrade treadmill. Enterprise Support takes 22 percent of the license base every year, and an honest review shows most of that spend buys updates the estate will never apply.
It especially fits companies using the 2027 ECC maintenance horizon on their own terms: some run third party support as a bridge that funds the eventual migration, others as a long term strategy for systems that will retire in place. Both need the same thing first, a clean exit that leaves no compliance flank open.
Leaving SAP support pays reliably, but only when the mechanics are respected:
Sequenced properly, the move is safe, reversible in strategy terms, and permanent in savings. That sequencing is the engagement.
The engagement runs four workstreams: the estate is segmented by suitability, the compliance baseline and archive are locked before departure, the provider is selected and contracted against your requirements, and the exit is executed against notice periods and renewal dates.
| Deliverable | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Readiness report | The segmented estate with per system rationale, risk analysis, and the quantified business case including provider and transition cost. |
| Compliance baseline dossier | The verified license position, entitlement archive index, pre departure archive plan, and post exit conduct guidance. |
| Provider evaluation and contract memo | The evaluation matrix, recommended selection with rationale, and contract amendments covering updates, patching, and liability. |
| Exit execution plan | The termination sequence, notice guidance, retention offer assessments, and the cutover checklist to the provider. |
| Advisory through cutover | Up to four advisory calls plus email support, with every SAP facing communication reviewed through the exit. |
SAP's best defense of the maintenance stream is uncertainty: about legality, about audits, about ever coming back. The engagement replaces uncertainty with documents. Third party support is an established, lawful market, and an exit built on a verified compliance baseline leaves the standard scare stories nothing to attach to.
The 2027 mainstream maintenance horizon has changed the math. For many ECC estates, third party support is now the bridge that funds the S/4HANA program: half the maintenance cost redirected into the migration SAP wanted you to panic into. We model exactly that trade in the business case.
Independence runs both directions: no ties to SAP, and no commission from any third party support provider. The provider recommendation is scored against your requirements, including the tax, regulatory, and security update needs that separate marketing claims from delivered service.
One fixed, all inclusive fee covers all four workstreams through cutover, with up to four advisory calls and email support, and the published record includes 8 million dollars saved on SAP support through exactly this combination of optimization and third party maintenance.
Support exits and cost resets on the record.
An enterprise saved 8 million dollars on SAP support through license optimization and third party maintenance.
✓ Published case studyA university system cut SAP licensing costs 31 percent through a centralized usage review.
✓ Published case studyA Swiss multinational closed its SAP audit from a documented entitlement position, the posture every support exit needs.
✓ Published case studyA US food manufacturer resolved its SAP audit with findings challenged on measurement and classification.
Typically half or more of the annual maintenance bill, permanently. Our published record includes 8 million dollars saved through combined license optimization and third party maintenance.
Yes. It is an established, lawful market with major providers serving thousands of SAP customers. What matters is executing the exit correctly: archive rights end when maintenance lapses, so the position must be documented before departure.
Stable estates on settled releases with deep customizations and no dependency on future SAP updates. ECC systems heading toward 2027 are the classic case, and the engagement segments the estate system by system with the rationale for each.
Good third party providers deliver them independently, and the provider evaluation tests exactly that capability against your jurisdictions. It is one of the requirements that separates providers on paper from providers in practice.
SAP's commercial response to departures is well rehearsed, and audit posture is part of it. That is why the compliance baseline is documented and archived before exit: any later approach meets a verified, defensible position.
That is now the most common strategy. Half the maintenance cost is redirected into the migration fund, the 2027 deadline loses its coercive power, and the eventual S/4HANA negotiation happens on your calendar with your leverage.
Yes, though SAP charges back maintenance for the lapsed period. The business case includes that reinstatement math per segment before you move, so the strategy is chosen with the full picture.
Fixed price, all inclusive, covering all four workstreams through cutover plus four advisory calls and email support. The readiness report typically lands within 10 business days of complete data.
Readiness segmented, the baseline documented, the provider contracted, the exit sequenced against your notice dates. That is a support exit done properly.
One letter a month. Negotiation moves, audit signals, and price book shifts.